Cry
by VibeQuake
Summary: Michael the Platypus, Perry's son, has just been rescued from L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N., where he spent the first nine years of his life. Struggling to adjust in O.W.C.A., Michael soon meets Gypsy the Cat, and it's attraction at first sight. Will their romance work out? Michael belongs to Nightflame203.
1. Chapter 1

Michael the Platypus was running, running as fast as he could. Away from the suspicious looks and horrible abuse coming from the agents who were supposed to be looking after and training him. The worst had been Cassie the Cat; she had called him a LOVEMUFFIN spy. Considering LOVEMUFFIN was the organisation who had terrorised, beaten, and tortured him, being accused of being a spy for them, AGAINST his own parents, was heartbreaking. What was even more heartbreaking was that her accusation was completely valid; Michael had been raised by LOVEMUFFIN for the first nine years of his life, taught that LOVEMUFFIN was good and OWCA was bad. It was hard to undo nine years of indoctrination in just a few months, but at least Michael was TRYING. That was the one thing nobody seemed to grasp.

As he fled past the infirmary, he heard muffled whimpering and crying coming from nearby. He skidded to a halt, confused, and followed the sound until he got to the back door of OWCA. He pushed it open and immediately spotted a small figure lying on the ground several hundred metres across the grass. Suddenly sick to his stomach with worry, Michael took off across the field.

As he got nearer, two details came into focus: the fact that the figure was a young cat, and the fact that she was being pinned to the ground on her front by thorny vines which had somehow grown over her body, trapping her. Her face was being pressed up against the soil, hence her muted cries and screams.

Michael picked up speed, pulling out the dagger that his best friend from LOVEMUFFIN had given him, and dropped to his knees by her side, beginning to cut through the vines. They were tough to cut, even with his sharpened dagger, but he was managing it. He got a few nicks in his paw as he worked, but he didn't care; this poor cat had horribly painful thorns digging into her ENTIRE BODY. He had to help her.

Finally, all the vines were cut away. Michael helped the cat turn over onto her back and sit up. She had many small, bleeding cuts over her body, but none of them looked too bad. She winced and her paw flew to her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Michael asked concernedly.

"I…I…" The cat coughed, before looking Michael directly in the eyes.

As soon as her deep green eyes met his brown ones, Michael felt something stir in his chest. Something sparked in his heart, making him feel like fireworks were going off above them. He couldn't stop staring into her eyes, and it seemed she couldn't either. They were inexplicably drawn to each other, like two magnets of different strengths. And when Michael finally managed to look down, he spotted small heart-shaped flowers sprouting around them, right in front of his eyes.

"U-Uh… A-Are you okay?" Michael asked again lamely.

"I…I'm fine," the cat replied awkwardly. "Thank you. I'm Gypsy."

"I'm Michael."

To his surprise, Gypsy's face lit up. "Oh, you're Perry the Platypus's son!"

Michael was wary to confirm this, since the next step was recognising him as the "LOVEMUFFIN spy" or "LOVEMUFFIN puppet", but he reluctantly nodded. "Yes, I am."

But again to his surprise, Gypsy continued smiling. "My mom and your dad are really good friends. I've heard a lot about you from them!"

"But I've only been here five months," Michael said confusedly.

"I know," chirped Gypsy. "Perry's been singing your praises to me and Mom, and I don't care what ANYONE else at OWCA says about you."

Michael was so touched that he felt his eyes begin to mist. "Th-Thank you, Gypsy. That means so much to me."

Gypsy reached out and clasped Michael's paw, making both of their hearts skip a beat. "You rescued me from the vines, so I know at least that you're not an unfeeling robot."

 _Is THAT what Cassie's saying about me?_ Michael wondered despondently. Aloud, he asked, "If I may ask, where DID those vines come from?"

The cat bit her lip. "Well…I created them."

Michael stared at her in confusion. "What?"

"I was born with powers," Gypsy confessed. "Earth powers. I can make plants grow at will, manipulate vines and flowers, and create little spurts of water that are only powerful enough to water plants."

"Wow…" Michael blinked a few times. "That's amazing…"

"Well, the one con to this power is that if a plant dies in my vicinity, I feel the pain," Gypsy said. "The bigger the plant, the more pain I feel. So if a tree falls in my area, it'll be really painful. If lots of trees are felled at the same time or within a short amount of time, I could be put into a coma or even die."

"That's…not so amazing," Michael admitted. "Has anything like that ever happened before?"

"Yeah," replied Gypsy, glancing down at her paws. "There was a fire in Danville Forest about three years ago. I felt like I was being burned alive, even though I was about a quarter of a mile away from the fire. That was the worst thing that's ever happened to me."

Michael sympathetically squeezed Gypsy's hand. "I'm sorry. The worst thing that's ever happened to ME was watching my best friend being punished for something _I_ did."

Gypsy wiped her eyes and blinked up at Michael. "W-What?"

"My best friend at LOVEMUFFIN was called Courtney. She and I did everything together. But one day, I made a mistake while out on a mission and we failed. When we got back, Courtney took the blame. I was punished by watching her getting whipped and electrically shocked with this…this shock stick that Professor von Roddenstein had. Hearing her screaming and watching her writhing in pain, while also knowing that I should have been the one enduring that, was the worst thing that's ever happened to me. It's a miracle Courtney even survived, and I had absolutely no idea how to thank her. I should have been the one to…"

Michael trailed off, but Gypsy knew what he was about to say. She leant forwards and hugged him tightly. Michael wrapped his own arms around her, enjoying the hug. In nine years of his life, he had never been hugged, except by Courtney on a few occasions and his parents in the last few months. He knew he'd never get tired of it.

When Gypsy pulled back, she smiled kindly. "I think you're a wonderful person, Michael. Don't listen to anything those OWCA meanies say; they don't know the real you."

That was when Michael decided to do something risky, crazy, and possible wonderful: he leant in and kissed her on the mouth.

While seemingly shocked at first, Gypsy took a few seconds to relax into it. They edged closer and wrapped their arms round each other, appearing like a seasoned dating couple instead of a not-even-dating couple experiencing their first kiss.

When they finally stopped, both of them were blushing. They gazed at each other in silence for a moment, before Michael attempted a smirk. "The heart flowers are back."

Both of them stared down at the ground, and, finding that Michael's statement was true, Gypsy grinned and kissed him again.

In truth, they knew it was a LITTLE too soon. But it didn't matter; they both knew it was affection at first sight, and neither of them could wait to see where their relationship went in the near future.

For the first time in his entire life, Michael felt like he belonged.

...

 **Michael and his mother (Pixie, for future reference) belong to Nightflame203. Anyone else you don't recognise belongs to me.**


	2. Chapter 2

Michael the Platypus and Gypsy the Cat were on their first date. After they'd met in the field out the back of OWCA, they'd decided to go on a proper date and see if they had chemistry. After all, even heart flowers weren't a HUNDRED percent accurate.

But so far, the dating was going well. They had just planned their first date: going to the observation tower in town to watch the sunset.

As Gypsy prepared to leave her house, her mother's voice called from the living room: "Gypsy, hon, is that you?"

"Yes, Mom!" Gypsy called back, a little unwilling to explain where she was going. "I'm just…going to the park."

"Be back before sunset, okay?"

 _No, not okay._ Gypsy gritted her teeth. But aloud, she called, "Yeah, Mom!"

When Wendy didn't say anything else, Gypsy grabbed her shoulder bag and snuck out the house.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, Michael was going through something similar with HIS parents.

"Where are you going?" Pixie demanded, folding her arms. "You never go out after suppertime." **(1)**

"I just want to go to the park," Michael said defensively. "Is that a crime?"

"Your mom's right, Michael," Perry said slowly, frowning. "You normally don't go anywhere after supper."

Michael shrugged. "I just want to go to the park. PLEASE?"

Finally, Perry and Pixie let Michael out of the house, though Michael had to continually look behind him to make sure they weren't following him. Luckily, even if they were, Michael and Gypsy had arranged to meet at the park, so Michael's parents wouldn't find anything amiss with that.

When the platypus reached the park, Gypsy was already there. She beamed as he approached, getting up off the bench to hug him. "Hi, Michael! Ready to go?"

Michael nodded and smiled back. "Ready, Gyp."

They held paws and began walking across the park, towards the observation tower. "I like the sparkles in your fur," Michael commented.

Gypsy blushed and brushed down her fur, but the glitter stayed stuck to her body. "It was an accident. I was babysitting my nephew earlier and he was playing with glitter."

"Well, it looks good," Michael chuckled. "Pink really goes with the colour of your fur. Also, why was your nephew playing with pink glitter?"

"He's an odd little thing," giggled Gypsy. "But adorable. So no problems getting out, then?"

"Almost none," Michael snorted. "My parents were like the cops: wanting to know where I was going and who I was going with and why I was going out after suppertime and will I be back before sunset, etcetera."

"Same with my mom," giggled Gypsy. "I didn't tell her I was going on a date, though."

"Really? Neither did I with my parents." Michael frowned. "Why did neither of us tell our parents?"

"I think I was just a bit worried because this is all so new to me," Gypsy confessed. "Dating, I mean. Mom has been worried recently because she thinks I'm growing up too fast, so I think I was worried that she'd not approve of m dating."

"Growing up too fast?" Michael repeated, his frown deepening. "You're nine years old like me, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but I'm her youngest child. I don't think she wants to let me go."

"Actually, that's kind of similar to me and my parents," sighed Michael. "Because I was away from them for so long, they don't like letting me out of their sight now. Not that I blame them; if MY child came back suddenly after being missing for nine years, I'D go into hyper-overprotective mode too."

"I think any parent would," Gypsy agreed. "So why didn't you tell them about your date?"

"I don't know," Michael admitted. "Maybe I wasn't quite ready… I don't really know."

"Maybe we should tell our parents tonight," Gypsy suggested. "How about this: if the date goes well, we'll tell our parents when we get home."

Michael nodded, smiling. "That's a good idea. I'm sure the date WILL go well, so we'd better begin preparing."

After they reached the observation tower, they began the long climb up the stairs. They knew they could have just taken the elevator, but they wanted to spend as much time with each other as possible.

Finally, they pushed the door open and went outside onto the observation deck. Gypsy gasped and rushed to the edge, peering out over the city. Even though the sun had not yet set, all the lights were beginning to turn on: car headlights, streetlamps, and building lights. It created an odd pattern of lights that were visible against the lowering sun but not quite shining brightly yet.

"I've never seen this before," Michael breathed, coming to join Gypsy.

The cat smiled fondly. "My parents used to bring me and my siblings here every weekend."

Michael paused, noting the terms "used to" and "parents", the latter instead of "mom". He suspected he knew why they stopped, but he kept quiet for now.

"After my dad died, Mom stopped leaving the house," Gypsy continued quietly. "So Cassie took me here a few times, but then she became busy with her boyfriend—now mate—and she stopped just as quickly."

"Cassie?" repeated Michael in confusion. "Why Cassie?"

"She's my older sister," Gypsy explained. "Two years older than me."

Michael gaped at her until she turned and spotted his face. "What?" she murmured.

"Cassie's been bullying me since I got here," Michael said slowly. "I mean, a lot of people have, but Cassie's been bullying me worst."

Gypsy bit her lip. "I'm so sorry about that, Michael. She's very…argumentative and…opinionated."

"I can't even walk past her without her calling me a LOVEMUFFIN spy," Michael snapped.

"Well I'm sorry, Michael, but I'm not her!" Gypsy snapped back. "I have no way of controlling her actions, so please don't take your anger out on me!"

Michael winced, feeling horrible for snapping at Gypsy. "I…I'm sorry… I knew it wasn't going to be easy to get the agents of OWCA to like me after spending nine years in LOVEMUFFIN, but…I'm still disappointed with how next to IMPOSSIBLE it is…"

Gypsy's face softened. "I know, Michael. But you'll always have me in your corner, no matter what."

"Thanks," Michael sighed, smiling weakly. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

"Hey, look!" Gypsy pointed suddenly and raced over to the other side of the deck. Michael followed her and found the sky over there a mass of pink, orange, blue, and yellow.

"Whoa," breathed Michael. "I've never seen so many colours in the sky before." He paused, then added, somewhat despondently, "I've never really seen the sky before, full stop. Of course I've SEEN it, but not…SEEN seen. Does that make sense?"

"You saw but you did not observe," Gypsy stated. "Right? You saw that it was there but never got the chance to look at it properly, right?" **(2)**

"Exactly right," Michael replied. "But now that I know this exists, I'm coming here EVERY weekend."

"Maybe we can come up here together," suggested Gypsy, smiling. "Make it the one date that we have every week."

Michael nodded eagerly. "I like that!" He smiled, taking Gypsy's paw. "This was a nice date. I'd call it successful, wouldn't you?"

Gypsy gave a smirk. "No."

"Oh." Michael frowned. "Why?"

"Because one little thing hasn't happened yet."

Before Michael could ask what she meant, she pulled him into a long kiss, right in front of the setting sun.

When they broke apart, they noticed a brown rabbit with a camera standing nearby, beaming at them. When he realised that they'd seen him, he bounded closer. "Sorry to stick my nose in, but I took a couple of pictures of you earlier. You can have 'em for free!"

He dug into his bag, pulled out a few Polaroids, and handed them to Michael, before tipping his hat and skipping away.

Michael looked down at the photographs, and Gypsy leant over his shoulder. There were three altogether: one of Michael and Gypsy chatting by the railing, one of them running across the deck, and an AMAZING one of them kissing with the sunset behind them.

"This is amazing!" Gypsy beamed. "Hey, why don't we start a scrapbook of our relationship? We can start with these photos! And my dad used to have a camera that's exactly the same kind as that rabbit's one, so I can ask Mom if I can borrow it and take more photos of us with it!"

Michael beamed as well and nodded excitedly. "That's an amazing idea!" He squeezed her paw. "Well, it's getting late. Shall we call it a night?"

Gypsy nodded. "I think we should."

 **...**

 **(1) Pixie belongs to Nightflame203. If you want to see more of her and Michael, read Nightflame203's Three Platypi And An Evil Organisation series, found on her profile.**

 **(2) "You see but you do not observe" is a quote by Sherlock Holmes.**


	3. Chapter 3

Michael was almost dancing into the house. He felt giddy from the long goodnight kiss he had shared with Gypsy a few minutes before. He closed the door of the house behind him and trotted into the kitchen to find something to eat.

"You look happy," commented Perry from the dining room table.

"I am," Michael responded automatically. "My date went very well."

He waited at least a minute for his father to register what he had just said. As soon as Perry's eyes widened, Michael burst out laughing. "Yes, Dad, I went on a date. It's not a big deal."

"It IS a big deal!" Perry gasped out. "My little boy's DATING now!"

"WHAT?!" came Pixie's screech from the living room.

A few seconds later, the teal platypus came flying into the kitchen. "You're DATING?! WHO?!"

Michael rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure if I should tell you, considering how you reacted."

Pixie took a deep breath and stepped back. "I'm sorry. I'm calm. Please tell us who you're dating."

"I'm dating Gypsy the Cat."

Perry and Pixie exchanged a thoughtful frown.

"Wendy the Cat's daughter," prompted Michael.

"Oh, of course!" Perry grinned and patted his son's shoulder. "How long have you been going out?"

"Only a few days. We met at OWCA on Monday and…well…" Michael paused, remembering the butterflies in his stomach and little heart-shaped flowers around them. "There was a spark."

"Oh, honey, that's great!" Pixie beamed and grabbed her son in a tight hug. "Are you happy with her?"

"Yeah." Michael smiled and let his mother hug him. "I really am."

…

"Mom, I'm home," called Gypsy, stepping through the front door.

Wendy was in the kitchen, stirring a pot of what smelled like soup. When Gypsy approached her, she turned and gave her daughter a disapproving look. "Where have you been? I said to come back BEFORE sunset."

That irritated Gypsy. She had just had a wonderful evening, and now she was being nagged. "Well, that would have been more than a little hard, considering the whole point of going out was to watch the sunset."

Wendy's face softened. "You went to the observation tower?"

Gypsy nodded. "I knew it was the best place to go to see it." She hesitated briefly, speaking again before her mother could. "Mom, I need to tell you something."

Her mother immediately became worried. "Do I need to sit down…?"

"Only if you think you'll faint when I tell you I have a boyfriend," Gypsy blurted out.

Wendy stared at her for a good ten seconds. "You…have a…"

"It's Michael the Platypus," Gypsy added quickly. "He's a really good guy; he's Perry and Pixie's son. We met at OWCA the other day and that was our first date. I really wanted to take him to see the sunset because we always used to when I was a kid and I thought it was a good place to start, and we had a lot of fun, and also I have photos but you probably don't want to see them yet but it's-."

Wendy abruptly grabbed one of the photos from Gypsy's paw. To the younger cat's dismay, it was the one of her and Michael kissing. She winced, expecting a lecture.

"Honey…this is beautiful."

Gypsy opened her eyes and blinked. "It…what?"

"It's all beautiful: the sunset, the photo, AND the couple in it." Wendy was smiling warmly at her daughter. "I AM startled, but I'm happy for you."

"I-I thought you'd be mad," Gypsy admitted.

Wendy shook her head. "I'm sorry I come across like that. I forget quite often that you're not a child anymore; you've grown into a gorgeous young adult in your own right, and if you're happy, then I'm happy."

Gypsy's eyes began misting over. "Mom…" She shook her head to clear it. "Can I borrow Dad's old camera and take more photos of us together?"

"Of course," Wendy replied softly. "May I see the other photos?"

Gypsy handed the two other photos to her mother, who looked over them with a large smile on her face. "You look so happy, Gypsy. Are you?"

"I think so," Gypsy replied, her face glowing with a radiant beam. "Michael's proven himself to be a great boyfriend so far. He's not like other guys who have shown, or pretended to show, an interest in me. He actually cares about me. He…" Even though they were in their own home, she lowered her voice. "I told him about my powers; he rescued me when they went out of control."

Wendy grasped her daughter's hand. "How out of control?"

"Thorny vines tying me to the ground."

"Oh." Wendy hesitated. "And you're okay with Michael knowing about your powers?"

"Yeah. I'd rather he knew now, rather than finding out down the line and being hurt that I didn't tell him sooner."

Wendy kissed Gypsy's forehead. "I'm proud of you, my girl. Now, would you like some soup?"

"Yes, please."


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Gypsy headed into O.W.C.A. headquarters early. She was feeling giddy and lightheaded, and she had gone to sleep last night thinking about Michael. She knew she really liked him, though if it was something more, it was too soon to say. She enjoyed spending time with him, and if she was being perfectly honest, they needed each other. In just one day, she had discovered that Michael didn't judge her for having weird nature powers and she didn't judge Michael for being raised in L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N., and the simple reason for that was because they both knew how it felt to have others treat them differently because of something they couldn't control. It was refreshing and a great change of pace to have someone she could really talk to.

But just as she was heading towards the cafeteria doors, she heard footsteps running behind her, and she whirled round to see Michael rushing full-pelt towards her. She automatically stumbled backwards into the wall, but to her surprise, Michael skidded to a halt right in front of her, his expression wild and worried.

"M-Michael?!" Gypsy yelped. "I-Is everything okay?!"

"I got a…" Michael trailed off as he bent over, panting so hard that he could hardly get the words out. "C-Courtney."

 _He got a Courtney?_ Gypsy cocked her head in confusion. "I-I'm Gypsy, not Courtney. Are you okay…?"

"I g-got a m-message," Michael managed to choke out. "C-Courtney's…"

Thankfully, Gypsy was able to piece together what he was trying to say. "Courtney's in trouble?"

Michael nodded frantically and dug into his fur pocket, pulling out a piece of paper, which he shoved at Gypsy. The she-cat unfolded it and read the message.

 _Michael_

 _Got caught sneaking trainees out-Roddenstein going to kill me tomorrow, please help_

 _Courtney_

Gypsy's eyes widened. "They're going to kill her?!"

"G-Gotta save her," Michael panted, slowly regaining his breath. "Tell my parents where I'm going."

"They're not going with you?" Gypsy asked in surprise.

Michael shook his head. "I don't want to drag them into this. If I tell them before I go, there's a chance they'll try to stop me. Besides, I know the Anti-O.W.C.A. like the back of my hand and they'll only get hurt if they come with me."

"Well, guess you'd better get me up to speed on the way, then," Gypsy said determinedly, handing the piece of paper back to Michael. "Come on, quickly."

She began hurrying back down the corridor. Within a few seconds, Michael had caught up. "What are you doing?"

"We're going to rescue Courtney," replied Gypsy firmly. "I know how much she means to you and I'm not going to let you lose her without a fight."

"Gypsy, no!" Michael's eyes widened. "You don't know what Professor Roddenstein and the others did to us. I mean, Courtney bore so much abuse for NINE YEARS, and now something bad enough to make her actually send an SOS message to me has happened!"

"That's why you're going to need all the help you can get." Gypsy shot a smirk at him. "Plus, I have powers."

"Which tied you to the ground with thorny vines less than twenty-four hours ago."

Gypsy just shrugged.

"Gypsy, I'm not even letting my PARENTS help me, and they're highly-trained O.W.C.A. agents," Michael tried again. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Blah," Gypsy replied.

Michael blinked, slowing slightly as Gypsy burst through O.W.C.A.'s front doors and towards the hovercar park. _Did she just say "blah"...?_ He quickly picked up the pace and fell into step beside her. "Gypsy, please just-."

"BLAH," Gypsy interrupted. "Sorry, it's a reflex."

Michael scowled. "Gypsy-."

"BLAH." Gypsy's eyebrows rose in pretend surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry. It happens every time someone tries to uselessly talk me out of doing something I'm already 100% intending to do."

Michael shut his beak and slowed down slightly, watching as Gypsy hopped into her mother's hovercar. She grinned up at him. "Come on, then."

Biting the inside of his beak, Michael climbed into the passenger seat. He had only just buckled his seatbelt when Gypsy lurched the hovercar forward and flew it into the air.

"So where are we going to find Courtney?" asked Gypsy.

"L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.'s secret headquarters," Michael replied, staring almost sulkily out at the sky. "Downtown."

Gypsy sighed slowly, keeping her eye on where she was flying. "Michael, I do appreciate you caring about me, but I care about you too, and if you go in there with no backup, you're more likely to get hurt."

"I'd have been fine without you," Michael said, folding his arms.

"You probably would have," admitted Gypsy. "But there was a very high chance that one or neither of you would make it out of there alive, and now that I'm coming to help, that chance has been reduced."

"By ten percent, if that."

Now it was Gypsy's turn to scowl. "Ten percent is better than nothing."

Michael winced, picking up the coldness in her voice. "I'm sorry…"

"No, I get it," Gypsy responded, her tone indicating that Michael had better tread lightly. "Nobody thinks I can do anything, not even you."

"Gypsy, that's not-."

"My mother's always been worried about me. Below average, that's what I am. I'm not strong, I'm not agile, I'm not skilled. All I have is my speed, but that's clearly not enough. And it obviously doesn't matter that I care about you enough to drop everything a day after I met you in order to go into L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.'s secret headquarters to rescue a girl who means a lot to you but whom I've never even heard of before today. And you think I can add TEN PERCENT to the mission. And don't pretend you didn't mean it," she added as Michael opened his mouth again. "You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it. I don't know why I'm even here..."

"And yet you haven't turned this thing around," Michael said softly.

Gypsy fell silent.

"I DIDN'T mean what I said, Gypsy," he continued in the same tone. "I'm just not used to people risking so much to help me. Courtney, yeah. But not...not someone I've only known a day."

"I'm your girlfriend, Michael," Gypsy said, her tone softening. "We may not have known each other for very long, but that doesn't matter to me." She sighed. "I overreacted. I'm sorry."

"Considering the circumstances, I'm pleasantly surprised it wasn't worse," Michael chuckled.

Gypsy smiled quickly at him. "Let's pretend that never happened and just go rescue your girlfriend."

Michael blinked. "Girlfriend?"

Gypsy snickered. "It was a joke."

"But...YOU're my girlfriend, so it doesn't really work."

"Eh. Force of habit."


	5. Chapter 5

Gypsy landed the hovercar on the roof of the building next door to LOVEMUFFIN's. As Michael surveyed the headquarters through binoculars, Gypsy started growing some thorny vines from her hands, tying them together into a thick piece of prickly rope. Then she took a thick stick out of her backpack and tied the rope onto the end of it, fastening it by anchoring the thorns deep into the stick's surface. Michael watched her in awe as she tested out her new weapon. "Is that a whip?"

Gypsy nodded, giving her boyfriend a shy smile. "I've tried out this technique a few times but I've never been able to actually use it in battle before. I'm excited to see if it works but also terrified because I have no idea what I'll do if it doesn't."

"If it doesn't, I'll protect you," Michael said warmly, squeezing her hand briefly.

"I can protect you too, Michael," responded Gypsy, a little more coldly than Michael expected. "I'm not completely helpless without my powers, you know."

"Of course, sorry." Michael retracted his hand, trying not to feel stung. "I wasn't trying to imply that."

Ignoring the twinge of guilt in her chest, Gypsy stood upright, running her paws down her prickly weapon. "Well, you know the building better than I do; what's the best entry point?"

"There's a vent on the roof that allows direct access to the middle of the building. Professor Roddenstein thinks it was sealed years ago but my parents told me that they broke it open in their attempt to rescue me. They couldn't pull it off all the way so the gap was too small for them to fit through, but since neither of us are fully grown yet, we should be able to get in that way."

"Is that the only way in?" asked Gypsy.

"No, but it's the best way. It's the only entry point that's both discreet and easy to get through. The only problem is I've never been through there before so I don't know the layout."

"That's fine. We'll just have to be extra careful."

As Gypsy started to walk forwards, Michael caught hold of her paw, stopping her. He met her gaze, a worried look in his eyes. "Gypsy, I… This is going to be extremely dangerous. If they catch me, they'll likely kill me for my betrayal. But if they catch you, they'll probably seize their opportunity and brainwash you against your family."

Gypsy's heart skipped a beat.

"I don't want you to have to go through the same thing I did," Michael continued, averting his eyes. "Fighting their child is the most painful thing my parents have ever experienced. Hurting my own family without knowing what I was doing is a close second. I might be given a death sentence if I'm caught but you'll be given a fate far worse. I just…" His voice almost cracked but he cleared his throat just in time. "I can't lose you. You've quickly become one of the most important people in my life and I'd rather die than see you turned against your family. Against...me."

Gypsy gazed at her boyfriend in silence for a moment, before gently pulling her paw out of Michael's. "We'll be okay, Michael. I promise you, we'll all make it out of here alive and safe."

"You can't promi-," began Michael.

But Gypsy had already hopped back into the hovercar. "Here, get in. I'll fly us directly over and we can drop down onto the roof."

Still dubious about the way his girlfriend seemed to be ignoring the danger, Michael got back into the car. In the short flight up, he tried to steady his nerves. If things went wrong today, he could end up losing both his girlfriend AND his best friend. To him, that was a fate worse than death. He had to be on top form if they had any chance of achieving the best outcome.

When they were high enough, Gypsy set the car to autopilot and crept to the edge, giving Michael a brave look. "Ready?"

Michael nodded, automatically reaching out for his girlfriend's hand. Gypsy took it, and the two agents leapt from the car. Both had to force themselves to keep silent as they landed gracefully on the roof, emitting only the quietest of sounds.

"There's the vent," whispered Michael, pointing.

They made their way quickly and quietly to the ventilation shaft that Michael had indicated. Gypsy tested the cover and found it to be impossible to pull off any further than Michael said his parents had been able to. "Right, who's going first?" she asked.

"I will. I know the layout of LOVEMUFFIN HQ so I have a better chance of finding where they're keeping Courtney."

"Where ARE they keeping her?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say the prison cells. I don't know if they know that Courtney was able to send a message to me, but either way, the cells are the most secure location."

Gypsy's heart sank. "Then how are we going to get in?"

"Well…" Michael hesitated. "I think the only way is to convince someone to help us."

"Seriously?!"

"Yeah." The worry in Michael's expression was almost painful to Gypsy. "I think the vent only leads to outside the prison and there's no way anyone can get in without the authorisation of a LOVEMUFFIN scientist. Or a sentry. So we just have to pray that either Elouise is around or someone who doesn't hate me is on duty."

Gypsy swallowed, her heart beginning to pound. The danger here was very real, and now they were faced with the fact that it was going to be more difficult to break Courtney out than Gypsy had expected. She wasn't sure why she had expected it to be so easy but she was seriously regretting that assessment now.

Sensing her fear, Michael grasped her hand. "You don't have to do this, Gypsy. If I go in alone, I might have a better chance of convincing someone to help."

"Oh yeah, I forgot I only bring ten percent to this mission," Gypsy snapped unexpectedly.

Michael withdrew his paw and stared at her. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" Gypsy folded her paws under her armpits so that Michael couldn't see how much they were shaking. "I have powers, Michael. That's something I bring to this mission that you don't and can't. If I step back now and Courtney dies, I'll never forgive myself. Unless we stop letting our worry get in the way of our mission, we'll never save her. We just have to trust each other, Michael. Can you trust me?"

Michael stared at her in anguish for a moment, before squeezing his eyes shut. "I can."

"Good." Gypsy gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and reluctantly unfolded her hands. "Let's go."


	6. Chapter 6

Gypsy's paws were shaking but she couldn't do anything about that. She could only follow Michael through the narrow vent and try not to imagine the horrors that awaited them if they were caught. Her strategy had always been to ignore the danger and focus on her actions, but it was hard to do that when there were so many things that could go wrong. There were so many bad outcomes to this scenario that she couldn't quite stop herself from thinking about them.

After what seemed like an hour in the vents, Michael stopped, causing Gypsy to stop too. She watched him nervously until he said, "We should be just above the entrance to the cells. If I remember correctly."

"How likely is it that you haven't remembered correctly?"

"Um...pretty likely. But even if we aren't directly above the prison, I'm confident that we're at least in the vicinity."

Gypsy let out a soft groan. _We're both going to die._

Aloud, she said, "Let's chance it."

Michael nodded and gently opened the grate, putting it inside the shaft in front of him. He peered down cautiously, relief filling him when he saw that there was nobody in sight. He swung down from the vent and landed lightly on the ground, moving aside so that Gypsy could do the same. She glanced around, her paws starting to shake even more now that she was out of the safety of the vent.

"Where are we?" she whispered.

They seemed to be in a blank corridor, curved slightly so they couldn't see more than a few metres in either direction. Michael surveyed their surroundings, trying hard to remember the layout of the tower.

"This way," he said, which didn't answer Gypsy's question, and set off to the left.

Gypsy followed him, remembering to focus on her breathing and stop herself from having a panic attack.

Meanwhile, Michael glanced at his watch. "Oh good, it's lunchtime. I didn't even realise."

"What?"

"Nearly everyone will be in the cafeteria. That makes things easier for us to sneak around."

"Oh." Gypsy's paws were able to become a little steadier at that. "Will anyone be on guard, then?"

"Of course. It just means we probably won't bump into anyone else on our way there."

Sure enough, they reached the prison without meeting anyone in the corridor. Gypsy was glad; she was so nervous that she'd probably have been useless in a fight. But now that they'd made it to their destination unchallenged, she could feel herself relaxing a little.

Michael peered round the corner, then quickly retracted his head. "Okay, there's two sentries: a cat and a bear. I only know the bear; his name is Bruce. He's really strong and he loves beating people up. We can take the cat on together but there's no way we can beat Bruce, so we need to get him away from the door. Any ideas?"

Gypsy hesitated, a risky plan forming in her mind. "We could cause a distraction."

"Okay. Like what?"

"Like...one of us lures him away from the door."

"No," Michael said immediately. "He's built like a truck; if he catches us, he'll squash us flat, no questions asked. We have to find another way."

"There might not be one, Michael." Gypsy's ears pricked, suddenly getting an idea. "What if I lured him away and then used my vines to get up to a vent? He'll just pass right under me and I doubt he'll think to look up."

Michael looked doubtful. "It's still really risky…"

"Frankly, I don't care. Neither of us have any other ideas and we're running out of time." She gave Michael a soft kiss, lingering for as long as she dared, then rushed out into the open before Michael could say anything.

"Hey!" the bear-Bruce-snapped. "Who are you?! What are you doing here?!"

Instead of verbally replying, Gypsy grew a vine under Bruce's feet and stabbed him in the leg with it. The bear howled in pain and charged forwards, causing Gypsy to yelp and rush away. Michael pressed himself against the wall as Gypsy and Bruce ran past him, their sounds soon disappearing from hearing range. Taking a deep breath, Michael also walked out into the open and approached the cat, who hissed and lowered into a fighting stance. "Who are you?"

"My name is Michael," replied the platypus. "Who are you?"

The cat narrowed her eyes. "How do you not know who I am? All Anti-OWCA trainees know each other."

"Really? Then how did you not know who I was?"

A pause followed this. "I'm Rissa. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see Courtney," Michael said, completely without a plan. "Professor Roddenstein said I could see her before she's punished today."

Guessing almost baselessly that Courtney's message had been sent yesterday and only arrived that morning turned out to be a winning gambit. Rissa shifted her paws and slowly nodded. "I guess that sounds right. When Bruce comes back, I'll take you in."

"Why do we have to wait until Bruce gets back?"

"So he can guard the entrance while I take you in. Professor Roddenstein specifically said not to leave the entrance unguarded in case someone tries to interfere with the prisoner."

Michael tried not to panic. Rissa may not have recognised Michael but Bruce certainly would. If Bruce came back and saw him, it would be all over. "I don't have long to see her; I want to get back to my lunch as quickly as I can. I'm sure he'll be back in a few minutes. And besides, what can someone do while you're right in there with me? The worst they can do is sneak into the prison, but one of us would see them on the way out. Right?"

Michael was almost rambling by the end but thankfully, Rissa didn't seem to notice. She nodded again. "I guess that's true… But I don't want to get in trouble with Professor Roddenstein…"

"He need never know," Michael said.

That clinched it for Rissa. Nodding for the third time, she took out a key and unlocked the door to the cells. "This way, then."

With one last glance back in the direction Gypsy had gone, Michael followed her into the prison.


	7. Chapter 7

Michael's heart was pounding so loudly he could almost hear it, but he managed to keep his emotions under control as Rissa led him through the cells, stopping in front of the last one. Steeling himself for the condition he might find his best friend in, Michael stopped too and looked into the cell.

The white rabbit was curled up on the ground in a ball, eyes closed. Her condition was nowhere as near as bad as Michael was fearing; she only had a few visible cuts and bruises on her trembling body. He knelt down beside the bars, trying to get closer to her level, and softly called, "Courtney?"

The rabbit's eyes slowly opened. Registering Michael, she jumped back in alarm. "M-Michael?! I-Is that...y-you…?!"

"I'm here, Courtney," Michael said, hoping she wouldn't give too much away in front of Rissa. "Professor Roddenstein said I could come see you for a bit. Is that okay?"

A flash of confusion was visible on Courtney's face for a moment, but she was sharp enough to realise quickly what was going on. "Th-Thanks. It's nice to see you."

"How are you?" asked Michael awkwardly.

"A bit sore. Nothing compared to what's coming, though." Courtney attempted a chuckle but the sound was so forced that it was almost painful.

As Michael opened his mouth to respond, Rissa suddenly stiffened and darted away. Seizing the opportunity, Michael hissed, "We're going to get you out, Courtney, just hang on," before standing up to see what had spooked the cat.

To his horror, Rissa came back dragging Gypsy by her scruff, throwing her down in front of the cell that contained Courtney. "Who is this?" demanded Rissa. "Is she with you?"

Again, before Michael could reply, something else interrupted him. Gypsy, who was staring at Rissa with wide eyes and an open mouth, let out a choked sob. "R-Rissa…?!"

The LOVEMUFFIN cat narrowed her eyes, her claws already sliding out of their sheaths. "How do you know me? I don't know you."

"Rissa, you…" Gypsy struggled into a sitting position, then rose unsteadily to her feet. "You're my sister."

A stunned silence followed this, punctuated by Rissa hissing, "Shut up. You're lying."

"No, I'm not," Gypsy said, her glistening eyes fixed on Rissa's face. "Mom said you died when you were a baby…"

"How do you know it's her, Gyp?" Michael asked quietly.

Gypsy lifted her paw and indicated a rip in the top of Rissa's ear. "Mom said she ripped her ear soon after she was born, in an accident caused by Cassie."

"That doesn't prove anything," snarled Rissa. "I've had numerous punishments over the years; it could have been caused by one of those."

"I have one more piece of proof." Gypsy lifted her left foot to display a patch of white fur on the underside, shaped like a wonky heart. "My brother and sister all have this birthmark. So does my Mom; that's where we got it from. Do you have one too?"

Another silence descended as Rissa slowly lifted her own left foot and showed Gypsy the underside. An identical mark was there.

Gypsy's breath caught in her throat, her paws flying to cover her mouth. "Rissa, you're… You really are my sister."

"But… that means…" Rissa blinked, her expression settling back into one of hostility. "You're part of OWCA."

"Michael and I both are," Gypsy responded reluctantly. "We came here to rescue Courtney." She turned to the rabbit in the cell and flashed a quick smile. "Hi, I'm Gypsy. Nice to meet you, Courtney."

The white rabbit could not look more baffled by what was going on but she gave Gypsy a smile back. "You too."

"I-I have to…" Rissa took a step back, then abruptly lowered into a fighting stance. "I have to stop you."

"Please, Rissa," begged Gypsy, not daring to move. "Even if you don't believe me, that's no reason to let Courtney die like this. She doesn't deserve this."

"I…" The brown she-cat hesitated, uncertainty clear in her eyes before she briefly squeezed them shut. "It doesn't matter whether you're my sister or not. My loyalty is to Professor Roddenstein; I can't let you leave."

"It doesn't have to be, Rissa," Michael urged. "I was a member of the Anti-OWCA just like you, once. My parents came for me and took me home with them. I'm safe with them. I'm loved. You have a family out there too."

Gypsy's eyes misted over. "A mom, a brother, and two sisters who all miss you and want you in their lives."

"If my parents wanted me, they wouldn't have given me up!" Rissa spat.

"They didn't give you up," said Gypsy. "I don't know exactly how you got here but I know enough about my mom to know that she would never have abandoned you and she would certainly never have given you to an awful place like this."

Rissa paused, the hostility fading from her expression. "I don't know if I can believe you, but… I can see that you're not bad people. If you think you can get yourselves and Courtney out of here on your own, then I will allow you all to leave this prison. But that's as far as my involvement will go."

She tossed the key to Michael, who began unlocking Courtney's cell. Gypsy, meanwhile, was gazing sadly at Rissa. "Does that mean you won't come with us?"

"Yeah. I don't know enough about you to be able to trust you blindly. In my eyes, you're still the enemy, even if you're not a bad person."

Gypsy's eyes filled with tears. "Mom said you were dead," she croaked, mostly to herself. "Why…?"

"That's something you should ask her," Rissa responded, stepping back to allow Michael, supporting Courtney, to get past her. "Go, before Bruce comes back."

Gypsy led the way out of the cells, glancing back every now and then to check on Michael and Courtney. Lunchtime was about to end so Michael knew the corridor would be filled with agents very soon. They had to get back to the vent they came through before-

CRASH!

Gypsy cried out as she felt something smash into her and knock her flying into the wall. She quickly rolled away as Bruce attacked again, managing to catch her in the side with his claws. However, the fear and adrenaline masked the pain so she barely even noticed in her haste to get a safe distance away from the bear. She took out her whip and coiled the end of it round Bruce's leg. The painful thorns digging into his skin, the bear roared and tried to rip it off him.

"Go, Michael!" hissed Gypsy to her boyfriend, who was watching her in horror with Courtney. "I'll catch up!"

"Gypsy, no!"

"GO!"

Michael didn't want to move, but he knew Courtney needed him more than Gypsy right now, so he reluctantly continued on his way, heading for the vent he and Gypsy had entered the building from. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that it was several metres above their head and they had no way of getting up there on their own.

"...crap," muttered Michael.


	8. Chapter 8

"How are we supposed to get out?" Courtney whispered. She wasn't usually scared of battle, but the prospect of having to fight her own former teammates while injured was a scary one.

"We'll have to wait for Gypsy. With any luck, she can get us a vine up there or something."

"A vine…?"

After Michael had quickly explained Gypsy's powers, the she-cat herself came barrelling around the corner. Without hesitating, she made a vine grow up from the ground and through the grate opening. She climbed up it, then Michael fastened Courtney to it and scaled the vine himself. Finally, both agents pulled Courtney up into the vent, managing to replace the grate just as the corridor below them started to fill up with various animals and scientists.

"We have to get to the roof, quickly," whispered Michael. "Courtney, can you crawl?"

"I… I think so."

"Michael, you go in front," Gypsy said, matching her boyfriend's volume. "I'll go behind Courtney."

The three animals crawled through the vents. Michael was aware that the two of them were counting on him to remember the way back up to the roof but he wasn't sure exactly if he did or not. Thankfully, the route came back to him the further they got, and finally, they found themselves facing the vertical grate that covered the vent on the roof.

Michael squeezed through the gap first, then he helped Courtney through. Gypsy was last, but as she dropped lightly to the ground, she felt a stabbing pain in her side. Her paw automatically flew to cover it, and when she brought it away, she found it sticky and red. For the first time, she noticed the three bright-red claw marks scored down her side, and that was when the pain hit her properly.

She dropped to her knees, hand clasped over her wound. She heard Courtney gasp, "Michael!", then the platypus himself appeared at her side, a scared expression on his face. "Gypsy, what happened? Did he get you?"

"Y-Yes." Gypsy took in a shaky breath, the stinging pain almost overwhelming her. "I need to g-get home; my mom's a medic. She can h-help me."

"Can you walk?"

Gypsy nodded, reaching out instinctively for Michael's hand. He clasped her paw and helped her stand, before glancing back over at Courtney. "Are you okay?"

"I can walk," responded Courtney, worry visible in her eyes. "Will she be okay?"

"We'll all be fine. We just need to find a way off this roof."

"Call...hovercar," Gypsy croaked, digging out the remote from her fedora and handing it to Michael. "Autopilot will bring it here."

Michael pressed the button and put the remote back in Gypsy's fedora.

As they were waiting, however, they heard the sound of a door crashing open. Spinning round, Michael saw that the iron door to the roof was wide open and a by-now familiar figure had appeared.

"Rissa…?" Gypsy murmured, unsure whether she was hallucinating or not.

Michael lowered into a fighting stance-the best one he could manage with Gypsy hanging onto him. But Rissa simply approached the two nonthreateningly, a conflicted expression on her face. "There's something I need to know before you go."

Gypsy stared up into the face of her sister. "W-What is it?"

"What's…" Rissa cleared her throat, shooting an uneasy glance back towards the door she had entered through. "What are their names?"

"Our mom's name is Wendy," said Gypsy quietly. "We have a sister called Cassie and a brother called Raziel. And my name is Gypsy."

"What happened to our dad?"

Gypsy finally tore her eyes away from Rissa and stared down at the ground. "He died before I was born. That's the only thing Mom ever told me about it."

In the pause that followed, yelling and thundering footsteps could be heard through the doorway. Thankfully, Michael could now see the hovercar making its way towards them. As they piled into it, Gypsy reached out and grasped Rissa's paw. "Come with us," she pleaded again. "Come home."

For one single moment, it looked like Rissa was considering Gypsy's offer. Then, she abruptly pulled her hand out of Gypsy's and rushed towards the door, ignoring Gypsy yelling her name. She slammed the door shut and pressed against it with her body, flinching when she felt it rock under her as someone on the other side began attempting to break it down.

"Rissa!"cried Gypsy weakly.

"Just go, all of you!" Rissa shouted back. "I can't hold them back forever!"

Michael grabbed Gypsy's arm as the she-cat made a desperate lunge for her sister. "Rissa, no!"

Rissa's sad eyes met Gypsy's desperate gaze. "Tell Wendy I'm alive, Gypsy. That's all I ask."

Gypsy hoarsely screamed her sister's name, but there was nothing she could do. She could only sit there as the hovercar rose quickly up and started on its course back towards OWCA headquarters. Michael, who was driving, could only spare an occasional sad glance back at her and Courtney, the latter of whom was trying her hardest to stop Gypsy's wound from getting any worse.

Tears slid down the she-cat's cheeks, not from the pain of her injury but from the pain of finding her sister after all these years, only to lose her again.


End file.
